MURFREESBORO — Tim Blue is a fast learner. There is no other exclamation as to how a player who picked up the game of basketball just five years ago already has flourished into an outstanding young star with a bright hoops future. Blue, a 6-foot-9, 208-pound sophomore at Indian River (Fla.) Junior College, has decided…

MT Media Relations MURFREESBORO — Middle Tennessee scored three times in the seventh and Steve Kline got his third save in four relief opportunities in a 6-4 victory over Lipscomb Wednesday night at Reese Smith Field. The Blue Raiders fell behind 3-0 after two innings, allowing three unearned runs to the visiting Bisons with two…

NASHVILLE (AP) — A Nashville man denies killing his neighbor’s dog by place-kicking it like a football. Chad Daniel Crawford, 23, told WSMV-TV on Tuesday that the only time he touched the 17-year-old miniature Yorkshire terrier was when he removed it from underneath a car. He said the 2-pound dog, named Gizmo, was already dead…

DAYTON (AP) — A permit is pending for a gay pride event next month in the town best known as the site of the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial and in the news recently for a county effort to outlaw homosexuality. The event, originally scheduled to be held on the Rhea County Courthouse lawn with a…

MEMPHIS (AP) — Tennessee first lady Andrea Conte announced Tuesday that she will lead a walk across the state to raise money for children in need. The fund-raiser, called “Andrea Walks for Tennessee’s Children,” will begin in Memphis on Sept. 8, covering 600 miles before reaching Blountville in mid-November. After a break, the walk will…

GLADEVILLE (AP) — The 40th anniversary of the Ford Mustang will be celebrated by car enthusiasts and company officials April 15-18 in this Nashville suburb. The event will include open track events, entertainment and vendor displays at the Nashville Superspeedway. About 3,000 cars are expected to be on display and the event may attract up…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen has dropped his plan to cut state reimbursements to local jails. The 2005 state budget included a provision to reduce payments to counties to $16 from $32 for each state prisoner held above a local jail’s certified capacity. David Seivers, executive director of the Tennessee County Services Association, said…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Charter schools could enroll at-risk children from any Tennessee public school, rather than just students at schools classified as “low performing,” under legislation pending in the General Assembly. Advocates for the change said Tuesday that broadening the eligibility guidelines would help more charter schools open…

By The Associated Press The Tennessee River is one of the 10 most endangered waterways in the country, a report released Wednesday by a national conservation group contends. Inadequate, aging wastewater systems and untreated sewage are two of the primary reasons American Rivers named the 652-mile long Tennessee River among the waterways throughout the country…

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / Associated Press Writer KNOXVILLE (AP) — With five candidates interviewed and five more to go, the search for the next president of the University of Tennessee is far from over. “It is still a horse race,” said Jim Murphy, chairman of an 18-member search advisory council of trustees, faculty, staff, students…